COLUMBIA, Tenn. — The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recently conferred a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence on the Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) Critical Care Unit. MRMC is one of only three hospitals in Tennessee with this honor.
The Beacon Award for Excellence—a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments—recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet national criteria consistent with Magnet Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.
“This recognition is reflective of the commitment of our Critical Care team to provide outstanding, evidenced-based care to our patients facing critical illnesses. I am immensely proud of the nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, physical therapists and other specialists who work together as a multidisciplinary team to provide the best possible outcomes for our patients,” said Chief Nursing Officer Deborah Lumpkins, DNP, RN, NEA-BC.
AACN President Clareen Wiencek, RN, PhD, ACNP, ACHPN, applauds the commitment of the caregivers at MRMC for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence. These dedicated health care professionals join other members of the exceptional community of nurses who set the standard for optimal patient care.
“The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in stellar units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes. Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care,” she explains.
The silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence earned by MRMC Critical Care signifies continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. MRMC Critical Care earned its silver award by meeting the following evidence-based Beacon Award for Excellence criteria:
- Leadership Structures and Systems
- Appropriate Staffing and Staff Engagement
- Effective Communication, Knowledge Management, Learning and Development
- Evidence-Based Practice and Processes
- Outcome Measurement
Other Beacon Award designations include bronze and gold. Recipients who earned a bronze-level award show success in developing, deploying and integrating unit-based performance criteria for optimal outcomes; gold-level awardees demonstrate excellent and sustained unit performance and patient outcomes.
AACN honors MRMC Critical Care and other Beacon Award for Excellence recipients with announcements in AACN Bold Voices, the monthly award-winning member magazine distributed to more than 100,000 acute and critical care nurses nationwide. AACN also honors awardees at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, the world’s largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families.